\-iiho 


MESSAGE  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

RicHV'OND,  Va.,  Jan     13,  1864. 

To  the  House  of  Representativex  : 

In  response  to  your  resolution  of  the  17th  ult.,  I  herewith  trans- 
mit, for  your  information,  a  communication  from  the  Secretary  of 
War,  relative  to  the  steps  taken  in  rcfeienco  to  *'An  Act  to  prevent 
the  absence  of  officers  and  soldiers  without  leave,"  approved  the  16th 
of  April,  1863.  .^. 

—V'        JEFFERSON  DAVIS, 

"lit- 


COMMUNICATION  OF  THE  SECRETARY  OF  WAR. 

Confederate  States  of  America*  ^^r  Dep\rtment, 
Richmond,  ^a.,  Jan.  11,  1864. 

To  th'.  President  of  the  Confederate  States  : 

SuR :  I  have  received  the  following  resolution  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  reterred  by  your  Excellency  to  this  department: 

'■'R-'solved,  That  the  President  be  requested  to  inform  this  House  if 
any  steps  have  been  taken  by  commanding  officers  to  enforce  the  pro- 
visions of  au  act  of  Congress  entitled  'An  Act  to  prevent  the 
absence  of  officers  and  sjidiers  without  leave,'  approved  the  iCth  of 
April,  1863." 

In  response,  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  a  report  from 
the  Adjutant  General,    enclosing  a  letter   from   the    Quartermaster 
General,  and  copies  of  the  general  orders  relating  to  the  subject. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  A.  SEDDON, 

Secretary  of  War. 


COMMUNICATION  OF  AD.l'T  AND  INSPECTOR  GENERAL 

Adjutant  and  Insp'r  General's  Office,  f 
RirhmonJ,  Jan.  9,   1864,  \ 

Hon.  Jamp>  a.  Seddon, 

Secretary  of  War,   Richmond :  • 

Sir  :  In  reply  to  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
of  the  1 7th  ult.,  inijuiring  whether  ''any  steps  have  been  taken  by 
comraan<lin_f;  officers  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  an  act  of  Congress 
entitled  *An  Act  to  prevent  the  absence  of  officers  and  soldier?  with- 
out leave,'  approved  April  Hi,  1863,"  and  referred  to  this  office,  Dec. 
23d,  I  respectfully  enclose  a  copy  of  my  letter  of  the  7th  instant,  to 
the  Quartermaster  General  and  his  reply  thereto.  It  will  thus  be 
Been  that  the  act  referred  to  was  published  to  the  army,  in  general 
orders,  soon  after  it  became  a  law. 

I  also  enclose  copies  of  general  orders  Nos.  fifteen  and  twenty- 
eight,  of  February  and    March,    1863,  showing  that  the  subject  in 
question  had  received  the  attention  of  the  department  prior  to  the 
passage  of  the  law  of  April  16,  and  its  design,  in  this  way,  anticipa-' 
ted  as  far  as  seemed  practicable. 

What  additional  measures  may  have  been  adopted  by  "commanding 
officers''  to  secure  the  observance  of  this  law,  I  regret  not  to  have  the 
means  of  stating. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

S.  COOPER, 
A.  and  J.   General. 


Adj't  and  Insp'r  General's  OffIce, 

Richmond,  Feb.  6,  1863. 


GENERAL  ORDERS, 
No.  15. 


EXTRACT, 


I.  All  the  commissioned  officers  of  the  army  in  the  service  of  the 
Confederate  States,  who  are  absent  from  their  respective  commands 
without  sufficient  authority,  and  from  whom  satisfactory  reports  hav<i 
not  been  received,  will  be  considered  as  no  longer  in  service,  thirty 
days  after  the  publication  of  this  order,  when  their  names  will  be 
erased  from  the  returns  of  regiments  and  corps.  All  quartermastera 
of  the  army,  charged  with  the  payment  of  troops,  are  hereby  prohib- 
ited from  making  payments  to  officers  who  do  not  exhibit  sufficient 
authority  for  absence   from  their  proper  commands ;  and  where  any 


doubt  exists  in  the  mind  of  the  paying  officer,  for  want  of  such 
authority,  he  will  suspend  payment,  and  report  the  case  to  this  office, 
with  the  namo  and  residence  of  the  officer  so  absent,  and  the  regiment 
or  corps  to  which  he  belongs. 

**♦****» 

By  order. 

S.  COOPER, 
Adft  and  Insp'r  GeneraL 


Adj't  and  Insp'r  General's  Office, 
Richmond,  March  13,  1863. 


GENERAL  ORDERS,  i 

No.  28.  S 


EXTRACT. 


IV.  The  impositions  attempted  to  be  practiced  on  officers  of  the 
Quartermaster's  Department,  charged  with  paying  troops,  call  for  the 
following  regulation  in  respect  to  the  payment  of  officers  absent  from 
their  proper  commands,  viz  :  Regimental  quartermasters  will  furnish 
to  officers  of  their  regiments  about  to  leave  their  commands  on 
detached  duty,  certificates  of  last  payments  made  by  them  to  such 
officers  ;  which  certificates  will  be  deposited  with  the  pay  officer  making 
the  next  payment,  who  will,  on  such  further  payment,  give  the  officers 
a  like  certiiicate.  Payments  to  officers  absent  from  their  appropriate 
commands,  except  those  placed  on  detached  duty  by  competent  author- 
ity, and  sick  and  wounded  officers  absent  by  like  authority,  are 
expressly  prohibited. 

By  order. 

S.  COOPER, 
Adft  and  Insp'r  General, 


Adj't  and  Insp'r  General's  Office, 

Richmond,  Va.,  Jan.  7,  1864. 

Brig.  Gen.  A.  I\.  Lawton. 

Qurter/naster  General : 

S'lR :  Herewith  I  enclose  you  a,  copy  of  a  resolution  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  17th  ultc,  together  with  a  copy  of  the 
general  order  No.,  108,  of  1803,  from  this  office,  and  I  havo  respect- 
fully to  reqv.est  that  you  will,  at  as  early  a  period  as  possible,  state 
whether  or  not  the  officers  of  your  department,  have  been  governed  .n 
their  payments  by  the  requirements  of  the  order,  above  mentioned. 
1  have  the  honor.  General,  to  be, 

Very  respectfully,  your  ob't  servant, 

S.  COOPER, 
Adft  and  Insp'r  General. 

Adj't  a>d  Insp'r  General's  Office,      } 
Richmond,  Va.,  Jan.  8,  18G4.  ^ 

Official  copy. 

John  Withers, 

Assistant  Adjutant  General. 


Adj't  and  Insp'r  General's  Office, 

Richmond,  August  4,  1863. 


GENERAL  ORDERS, 

No.  108. 


extract. 

The  following  acts  are  published  for  the  information  of  the  army  : 

********* 

An  act  to  prevent  the  absence  of  Officers  and  Soldiers  without  leave. 

"  The  Congress  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America  do  enact  :  That 
no  officer  or  soldier  of  the  army  shall  receive  pay  for  any  period  dur- 
ing which  ho  may  bo  absent  without  leave,  or  beyond  the  leave  granted, 
from  competent  authority,  according  to  the  regulations  of  the  army  : 
Provided,  That  this  restriction  shall  not  aflfcct  the  Kick  or  wounded  in 
Vrx^pltalti. 

v'5EC.  2.  In  order  to  enforce  the  requirements  of  the  foregoing  seo- 
lion,  it  is  hereby  made  the  duty  of  commanding  officers  of  companies 
I'l  state  upon  the  muster  and  pay  rolls  of  their  companies  the  length 
ut:  time  any  officer  or  soldier  has  been  absent  therefrom,  without  leave 
f  competent  authority,  since  the  previous  payment,  when  the  de- 
i  action  of  pay  for  such  absence  will  be  made  by  the  quartermaiter 
from  the  amount  otherwiae  due  the  officer  or  soldier  ;  and  any  com- 


mander  of  a  company  who  shall  fail  to  note  such  absence  on  the  mus- 
ter and  pay  rolls  of  the  company  shall  be  required  to  refund  to  the 
Government  the  amount  forfeited  by  such  absent  officer  or  soldier, 
unless  it  shall  already  have  been  received  from  the  officer  or  soldier 
so  absent. 

Sec.  3.  Officers  shall  certify  upon  honor  on  their  pay  accounts 
whether  they  have  or  have  not  been  absent,  without  leave  by  compe- 
tent authority,  within  the  time  for  which  they  claim  pay  ;  and  if  ab- 
sent without  leave,  they  shall  state  in  their  cerdficates  the  time  atd 
period  of  such  absences.  In  lik;;  manner,  commanding  officers  of 
companies  shall  certify  on  honor  on  their  pay  accounts  that  they  have 
stated  fully  and  correctly  on  the  muster  and  pay  rolls  of  their  compa- 
nies the  length  of  time  each  officer  and  soldier  of  the  company  has 
been  absent  without  leave  since  the  last  payment  of  the  company. 

Sec.  4.  That  this  act  bhall  not  be  conatrued  to  relieve  any  officer  or 
private  from  any  other  penalty  to  which  he  may  be  liable  by  existing 
laws  or  regulations."     [Approved  April  16,  1863.J 

******** 
By  order. 

S.  COOPER, 
Adjutajit  and  Inspector  General. 


^■pp 

?■  V 

^^  -._ 

'■•- 

'•V 

Confederate  States  of  America,  > 

Quartermaster  General's  Office,      v 
Richmond,  Jau.  7,  l.^G4.  S 

Gen.  S.  Cooper,  Adj't  and  Insp'r  d'eneral : 

Sir  :  Your  communication  of  this  da^<^,  enclosing  a  copy  of  u  reso- 
lution of  the  House  of  Representatives,  requesting  to  be  informed 
"  if  any  eteps  have  been  taken  by  commaudinrr  officers,  to  enforce  the 
provisions  of  an  act  to  prevent  the  absence  of  officert;  and  soldiers 
without  leave,  approved  the  16th  of  April,  1S63,"  and  asking  infor- 
mation as  to  whether  or  not,  the  officers  of  this  department  have  been 
governed  in  their  payments  by  the  requirements  of  general  orders 
No.  108,  last  series,  has  been  received. 

I  have  to  state,  in  reply,  that  the  act  referred  to,  makes  it  the  duty 
of  commanding  officers  of  companies,  to  state  upon  the  muster  and 
pay  rolls  of  their  companies,  the  length  of  time  any  such  officers  or 
soldiers  have  been  absent  therefrom;  requires  officers  to  certify  on 
their  pay  accounts,  whether  they  have  or  have  not,  been  absent  with- 
out leave,  within  the  time  tor  which  they  claim  pay,  and  company 
commanders  to  make  the  additional  certificate  that  they  have  noted 
upon  the  company  muster  rolls,  the  period  of  abscence  of  the  officers 
and  men  under  their  command. 

So  far  as  I  have  been  enabled  to  ascertain,  the  officers  of  this  Depart- 
ment have  complied  with  the  provision  of  said  order.  If,  in  any  in- 
stance, there  has  been  a  failure  to  observe  its  requirements,  it  has 
been  without  my  sanction  or  knowledge. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

A.  R.  LAWTON, 
Quartermaster  General. 


Hollinger  Corp. 
pH8.5 


